In the first half of this year, a total of 1,558 Chinese patents were granted by countries along the Belt and Road. China's published patent applications in these countries reached 3,125, an increase of 13 from the same period last year, China's National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) said. Computer, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing topped the list of industries involved in China's patent applications in the Belt and Road countries in the period.

Tech giant Huawei, smartphone maker Oppo and artificial intelligence company Ping An Technology ranked the top three of Chinese patent applicants, according to the data released by the NIPA earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the numbers of patent grants and patent applications in China also grew in the first half of 2019, demonstrating that China's business environment has been recognized and affirmed by more Belt and Road countries.

According to the NIPA, 8,029 patents from the Belt and Road countries were granted by China, with a year-on-year growth of 16.2 percent.

Forty Belt and Road countries submitted 11,683 patent applications to China, up 3.0 percent and three more countries compared with the same period in 2018.